When we first heard that we would be playing against Pele, we had to pinch ourselves to make sure it was not a dream. We were thinking, “Is this for real? Is Pele really going to play against us?”
Then with the New York Cosmos, he came to play against us in Kolkata in 1977 as part of an Asian tour. It was the greatest moment of my football career. We held them to a 2-2 draw, and we were actually leading 2-1 heading into the dying moments of the game. The credit goes to the entire Mohun Bagan team.
It almost did not happen. Because the ground was wet, and Pele’s insurance agents were wary of letting him play. He told them no, saying that he had never seen such a huge, fervent crowd and that he could not disappoint them. The crowd that day was in lakhs, and there was a sea of people outside the stadium, too. He played all 90 minutes.
I was lucky that I got the chance to mark him. I stopped him a few times, but he is Pele, you know, he is un-markable. My thinking was clear. The moment I saw him as an opponent, I tried to forget that he was Pele. I told myself that I was no less than any player in the world, that I was also someone.
There is a photo that was published by the Anandabazar Patrika at the time, the only such photo, which shows me trying to tackle Pele. That picture, I am told, is displayed at the Cosmos club in New York even now.
That match also helped us achieve the triple crown―IFA Shield, Rovers Cup and Durand Cup. (Mohun Bagan had a bad run of form coming into the Cosmos match; arch-rivals East Bengal had beaten them a few times). We won four consecutive tournaments after the Pele match.
There was another interesting outcome of the match. Before he left the US on that trip, the sponsors at Cosmos had apparently asked Pele to watch out for the best team among those he would be playing against and report back to them. Pele played in a handful of countries before reaching India and, after our match, he told me that he would recommend us to the sponsors.
The following year, the 30-member Mohun Bagan squad was invited for a multi-country tour to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, all for free. We played six-seven games there, all because of Pele’s recommendation. The most important moment for me, however, was during his felicitation later in the evening. The game had finished by 5:20pm and we were covered in mud. The pitch was slush. During the felicitation at the Grand Hotel’s ballroom, around 8:15pm, Pele was very eager to meet the Mohun Bagan players. Before coming to India, he had been to Japan, Korea and China, but the Cosmos had thrashed the teams there. Mohun Bagan, however, had stopped the American club.
It was almost like a win for us. Pele said he was astonished that a team like Mohun Bagan could play such football. “I want to meet them fast,” he said. The first name called was Shibaji Banerjee, the goalkeeper. He had stopped a free kick by Pele. I was called seventh. Seeing me, he broke out into a laugh and said, “Ah, you’re that No 14 who did not allow me to play.”
It is the greatest compliment I have ever gotten. Chuni da (Chuni Goswami), who was beside me, told me, “Gautam, don’t play anymore; the emperor of football has given you such a compliment.”
Though he had retired from international football at the time (Pele was 37), he was still playing for a team like Cosmos. Actually, I would even say that it was Pele who “invented” football in the US. Of course, [German great Franz] Beckenbauer was also there [at Cosmos], but is was mostly because of Pele that football became popular there.
A stalwart like Pele will never be born again. He is an institution of football, not only in Brazil, but worldwide. Whether it be receiving the ball, passing, dribbling or shooting, his skill level was excellent. As was his behaviour. He was such a humble man.
His death was a shock to us, to people from all walks of life. He may be gone physically, but he will remain in the hearts of everyone.
Sarkar, a former Indian international, is one of the few footballers to captain both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
― As told to Anirudh Madhavan.
Pele IN NUMBERS
Overall
Goals: 1,200+
Games: 1,300+
Official (clubs)
Goals: 680
Games: 723*
Goals per game: 0.94
For Brazil
Goals: 77
Games: 92
Goals per game: 0.84
*729 according to some sources